Method of and apparatus for removing edge roll from cloth subject to the same



June 6, 1950 J. w. HOUTH ETAI. 2, 1

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING' EDGE ROLL FROM CLOTH SUBJECT TO THE SAME Filed Nov. 16, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet 1 \g N R} IN VEN TOR.

Joseph W llouth BY Paul L. Miller Fred T Miller J. W. HOUTH ET AL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS F June 6, 1950 2,510,313 OR REMOVING EDGE ROLL FROM CLOTH SUBJECT TO THE SAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 16, 1945 INVENTOR. Joseph W Hpu h Paul L. Mlller Fred T Miller 2 ATTYS.

J. W. HOUTH ETAL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR REMOV 2,510,313 ING EDGE June 6, 1950 ROLL FROM CLOTH SUBJECT TO THE SAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 16, 1945 Patented June 6, 1950 Mitrfioi crass APPARATu s' F oR n Mov- ING EDGE ROLL FROM CLOTH SUBJECT Joseph W. Houth, Aiken, and "Paul In -Miller and Fred-.1. Miller,-Glearwater,-S;-0., assignors to United'Merchants & Manufacturers, Inc., Wil- ,min ton, 11.9 .arorn iqn iii-De aw re Application November 16, 1945,-Serial No. 629,124

v"This invention relates: I to apparatus g and a :PI'QCBSSKJEQI" eliminating the so-called edge roll ontendencyto cur1 up-at the edge s which isex- 5 claims. (01. 117-7) hibitedby various types ,of cloth. :Certain types ent. from the following description and accompanyingdrawings in.;which..a. preferred form of apparatus and method is shown.

In the drawings. 1' Fig.1 .isadiagrammatic. elevational view; of apparatus, for carrying .outthe inventionshowingthe sequence of the cloth processing operans; g gFig. 2 is ,anenla'rged, broken-out view along the lines 2:,-2..of ,1; 'lf Fig. 3 is an enlarged, broken-out view along the lines 3 -3 of Fig. 1;' f 1 l Eig. 4 is, an.'enlarged, broken view, partlyin section and. partly diagrammatic, along the lines 44 of. .Fig. 1; I V 2Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the lines 55 of Fig. 4;,and i] "i, I Fig. 6 is an enlarged, broken view, inperspective showinga portion offtheapparatus;

Broadly speaking, the invention contemplates amethod and meansfor preliminarily removing the edge roll from, the cloth; thereafter setting the cloth in a form at least temporarily freeof edgejroll; and then applying a setting material to the selvagesojf the clothjto effect th'eIpermanent elimination of the edge roll; 'Ithas been eral movement ofthecloth is not extensive,- it is sufficient, if 4 not appropriately offset, to, interfere withlihe applicationnf thdsettingmaterial to the, edge-portions only, of the ,clothij-Addition-v ally, therefore, the preferred .embodiment olfgthe invention, contemplates, the ,provislonlof. .appro creep: ofv the-cloth,-slightly inadvance of the application'pfthe setting material, and effecting such relativeadjustment of the mechanism 'as will preserve the correct tracking of the setting material applicators in relation to the edges of the cloth.

The preliminary means for removing the edge roll c0mprises;-in the present instance, one or more mechanical Spreaders; such as scrol1 rolls. The cloth is temporarily set in an edge roll free form, preferably after wetting, by passing it in contact with a heated supporting surface, advantageously a moving heated surface. Care must'be exercised in transferring the cloth" from P the Spreaders to said surface to ensure that the cloth is completely fiat and free of edge r011. According to the invention, the latter requirement is effected as the cloth, with the curl on the exposed-side with respect to said surface, is advancing'means'being provided for firmly and continuously brushing the cloth against the moving heated surface so as to maintain the two in contact and at the same time to uncurl the edges to a completely fiat form. At this pointa second moving surface contacts the cloth and serves to press it against the heated surface, maintaining this position long enough to impart a temporary set to the flattened cloth. Thereafter, the fabric passes over-a support to position it for the application of the setting-material to the selvages, which are at this point'in a satisfactory flat form to receive the setting materiaL- According to the invention, the applicators are arranged to occupy a predetermined position relative to the cloth and means are pro"- vided whereby the fabric and the applicators are movable relatively to each other. In the present instance, and as is preferred, such relative movement or adjustment is effected by mounting the-applicators so that they themselves are movable-laterally of the cloth in suchmanneras to maintain the predetermined setting of the 'applicators relatively to the cloth. The applicators are responsiveto widthwise movement of the-cloth as itadvances past them, this result being secured in the present instance, by means ofswitches operated by the cloth itself. l The invention may 'be better understood'by referring to Fig. 1 wherein I denotes anadvanc in .web of rolled edge fabric.- Guide rollers 2 and-3 .position and tension the-fabricforcontact-With a relatively coarse scroll-roller 4 (Fig: 2),-Whl0h'SBlVS to remove the larger folds and wrinkles. 'The'fabric is then Wetted by a water priate means for registering any such lateral 55 spray 5 to render it less resilient and to condition it for temporary setting in a later stage. Trough 6 catches the drain water. Guide roller 1 introduces the fabric to a second scroll roller 8, which has a finer scroll than the roller 4 (Fig. 2) and which further reduces the edge roll. Scroll rollers 3 and 8 rotate in opposite directions, as shown, for greater efficiency. Scroll 8 operates adjacent the moving heated surface 9, which may be in the form of a heated roller, such as a palmer, and as the fabric passes over the scroll 8 it is contacted and supported by the moving surface 9, the contact being promoted by the wet condition of the fabric. The fabric at this point has the curl on the exposed side,

so that as it advances with the moving surface 9, it encounter the continuously moving brush I which sweeps against the fabric transversely to the direction of movement of the same to uncurl the rolled edges. As shown, the brush is in the form of an endless belt Illa carrying a series of spaced brush elements lilb. Two brush units are provided, one for each selvage, as shown in Fig. 3. The brushes are driven continuously by means of a belt ll, pulley l2, and suitable drive means not shown.

The fabric is completely free of edge roll when it emerges from contact with the brushes, and to preserve it in this form it is immediately griped between the moving surface it and the moving surface 9. The surface 53 is shown in the present case as a flexible, endless, bla like belt, but it is not necessarily limited to l1.. 1S form. The path of moving surface is is as follows: After leavin guide roller it it contacts the fabric, passes around the surface 1 leaves the fabric over roller it, passes upwardly over roller it, around the large roller ll, then over the guide rollers l8, I9, 28, 2f, 22 and 23 and back to roller [4. The direction of travel of the surface [3 is indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. Durin its contact between the surfaces and 13, the fabric is subjected to sufficient heat, and advanced at such a rate, as to bring it to a point where it is just dry on leaving the surface 9. The means for applying heat, in the present instance, is by feeding steam to the palmer in accordance with the well known palmer ccnstruc tion, the details of which, such as the means for rotating the same, are omitted for the sake of simplicity. A frame 2 5 is shown for supporting the moving surface 9 and the large roller ll.

The fabric emerges from contact with the surfaces 9 and IS in a form which is at least temporarily set or free of edge curl and passes under roller l5 to the hollow stationary supporting tube 25. Here it moves between a pair of suspended feeler rods, one of which is shown at 22, each being connected to a member 2'2 the latter in turn being secured to the applicator mechanism generally indicated at 28. The lower end of rod 26 is free to swing laterally in the slot 29 formed in the upper surface of tube 25. The applicator mechanism comprises two sets of applicator wheels, one set being shown at 38 and 31. Wheel 3| is arranged to continuously dip into a reservoir 32 of setting material and apply such ma terial to the selvage of the fabric, and the wheel 3!] acts as a backing surface. A support 33 positions the flattened fabric at the proper height for contact with the applicator wheels.

While the general position of the fabric with respect to its direction of movement is essentially in the center of the apparatus (Figs. 2 and 6), it has a tendency to move laterally in either direction to an extent sufficient to throw the selvages out of registry with the applicator wheels. The feeler rods serve to detect such widthwise changes in the position of the fabric. Considering one edge of the fabric for the moment, in normal operation the feeler rod 25 is in light contact with the fabric. If the fabric shifts laterally, contact with the fabric will be either increased or broken, and in either lease the feeler rod will be sufficiently deflected from its normal position to set in motion suitable means such as is indicated at 35 for moving the applicator mechanism in the same widthwise direction as the fabric. Since the feeler rod is connected to the applicator mechanism, the movement of the latter will stop when the feeler rod has been brought to a normal, non-actuating position. In this manner the applicator wheels are caused to follow the lateral movement of the fabric and to be maintained in registry with the fabric selvages at all times.

The fabric with its selvages coated passes over the roller 3%, guide rollers 36, I9, and 37, roller 38 and then may be collected in the usual way. In traversing the last-mentioned path, the setting material, which may include any of the well known resinous and thermoplastic coating agents but preferably comprises a solution of an alkyl cellulose ether, has ample time to dry,

As described the invention as illustrated is in the form of a. palmer arrangement in which the moving surface or support 9 is driven by conventional means not shown. The endless surface l3 in turn is driven by moving surface 9, and the fabric is advanced through the apparatus by virtue of being compressed between these two surfaces. It is also advanced in the later stages of its processing by coming in con: tact with the moving surface l3 in the vicinity of the roller l9, at which point the positions of the fabric and the moving surface are such that the latter acts as a support for the fabric.

It will understood that many of the mechanical details described above do not in and of themselves form a part of the invention and can be varied widely. For purposes of illustration a preferred embodiment is shown of the means for maintaining the application of the setting material to the selvages of the fabric in accordance with the widthwise movement of the fabric. Referring to Fig. 4, which is a detailed, diagrammatic, and partl sectioned view, it will be seen that the applicator mechanism 28 comprises a pair of yokes 40 and 4'9 mounted on the threaded shafts 4!, 4|. Each yoke (Fig. 5) comprises two identically shaped side members .2, 3, and 42', 43' (43 is not shown) joined together in spaced relation by bolts 44', 45 and M, 45. Yoke 40 is shown with one of the side members partly broken away to expose the inner con struction, including the threaded block it by means of which the yoke is secured to threaded shaft 4! and adapted to be moved by rotation of said shaft. Since the shafts M and ii are of a similar construction, except for being opposed to each other and acting in opposed relationship, only one of them will be described in detail, and the corresponding parts on the other will be indicated on the drawing by corresponding primed numerals. The shaft 4| is supported by the bearing 41, which is common toboth shafts, and by the bearing 2'8 and the cap member 5 9. Shaft 41 is provided with the unit 50, which has gear and sprocket parts 5| and 52, respectively, and which, for convenience, will be referred to as aw gear member. A similar gear member 53, having gear andsprocket par-ts 5'4v-and 55, respectively, is disposed on shaft '4I in opp'ositerelationship to the 'gear member 50, as shown. Gear members Hand 53 rotate freely on the :shaft. A dog clutch 56, slidably keyed to the shaft 'bymeans of key 51, is] positioned between the-gearmembers 59 and 53 and adapted to'be engaged anddriven by either gear memberin-v response to -displace-. ment o'f the collar piece 58'.

Shafts '59 and'BB extend between the side members of'both yokes {and serve to {support'a'nd rotate the applicator wheels. Looking'at the left hand wheels, comprising upper Wheel- 30 and lower wheel 3| it will be seen thateach is secured to hubs 6| and 62 respectively. Hub 6| is keyed to the shaft 59andadapted to=slide along it in the keyway' 63. Similarly,- th'e hub '62 is keyed to shaft -50 and slides falong .it in the key-way- 64. Secured totheends-of hubs iil and'62 are pulley-like parts 65 and 66 having-grooves: 61 and 168, respectively, adapted to engage the bars or keys-69,10 (Fig. 5),. the latter being fas'tened to the side members of the yokes. By this arrangement the applicator wheels can be moved laterally simultaneously with-the yokes. 'The right handtapplicator wheels have the same construction as the left hand wheels andwill not,"therefore, be further described.

Shaft 59 is supported iby -bearings Hand 1|, and has at its righthandenda pair .of sprocket gears 12 and 13, the latter being connected by chain 14 to the gearimember53fi. At itsleft hand end shaft 59 is fitted with'gear I5 and sprocket gear 13,'the latter being connected by chain 11 to gear member 53. Sprocket gears 12, 1.3,and. 16 and gear are adapted'to rotate withthe shaft.

Shaft 60 is supported on bearings 18 and 18 and has at its right hand end a sprocket gear 19 which is connected by chain 89 to gear member 50'; atits left hand end it is fitted with thegear I 6|, which is adapted to engage'the .gearl5, and

with sprocket gear. 82, which is connected by chain 83-130 the gear memberl-50i Sprocket gears 79 and-82 and gear'8| are fixedto rotate with the shaft.

Roller 15 is the same as that shown in Fig. 1, and furnishes the driving force foritheassembly of shaft and gears in Fig. 4, being itself'driven by the endless movingsurfacelB. Itis'supported on bearings "84 andi84and hasa fixed sprocket gear 85 at its right handend-whichis connected by chain86 to the sprocket gear 12.

In the top portion. of yoke 42 a contact :rod 90 is mounted which is-a'dapted to close a circuit with eitherithe contact 9 or the contact 92. The

rod 99 is connecteid to member 2! which is in turn connected to feeler rod 26 (Figs. 5 and 6). Normally, feeler 26 is sufiiciently supported by contact with the fabric to maintain the rod 96 out of contact with 9| or 92. When thefabric I moves laterally to the left (Fig. 4), defiectingfeeler 26, the contact rod 90 is turned to make contact at 9|. When the fabric moves laterally to the right, fee'ler'26, being no longer supported by the fabric, swings to the right and thecontact rod 99 makes contact at 92. Contact! is connected to the coil of solenoid 93; while contact-'92 is connected to the coil of solenoid 94,;both solenoids being connected to a source-ofpowennot shown. Pole pieces 95 and 96 are secured to the arm 91, which is pivoted at 98. When solenoid 93 is energized, for example, it attracts the pole piece 95 and arm 91 is consequently swung to the right, collar piece 58 being swung to the left and thus pushing the clutch 56 into engagement with the gear member 55. Solenoid 94-acts similarly, but in mop-- posite direction. i

The to portion of yoke 42 is identical incon-i struction to yoke 2 and will not-be described- In the operation of the applicator mechanism shown in Fig. 4, the fabric normally passes over thestationary tube 25 and support 33 in such a position that its selvages are in registry with'the applicator wheelsand are coated by .them with settingmaterial. The applicator wheels are causedto turn with the fabric, by which is meant that at their contact points with the fabric they are moving inthesame direction as the fabric. This result is accomplished by'means of the drive connection between roller l5 and shaft 59, involving the chain 86. The fabric in Fig. 4 is moving in a direction towards the observer, while the roller l5 rotates in a direction approaching the observer at its bottom and receding. from the. observer at its top, as can be verified by examining Fig. 1. Shaft 59, of course, will have the same rotation as roller i5, while shaft 65 will have an opposite rotation since it is driven by shaft 59 through the gears l5 and 8|. The applicator wheels on shafts 59 and 69 will have thesamerm tation as their respective shafts, being secured to the shafts b the keyedhub assemblies as described above.

It .will be observedthat the ear members 53. andf53' will have the same rotation as shaftx59, being drivenby said shaft through the chains l1 and 14, respectively, and that gear members 56 and 5|! will have the rotation of shaft 59 due to the drivev connections 83 and 80, respectively. As stated, the gear members '56, 53 and 53' are freeto rotate on'theirrespective shafts.

With the applicator mechanism functioning in the normal manner, i. e., with the fabric centered between the right and left hand applicator wheels, the'feelerrods 26 and 26' will be in upright, nonactuating positions, and therefore no contact will be made at the contact points 9|, 92, 9|, or 92'; Thesolenoidswill be unenergized and the clutches disengaged. If, noun-the fabric m-oveslaterally to one side, say against the feeler 26' and away from the feeler 25", the displacement of the former will close the contact ti, and solenoid 93Will become energized, causing the clutch 56 to be moved into engagement with gear portion of rotating ,gear member 53-. Threaded shaft'M is'thus made to rotate in the direction of shaft 59ganddue to the left-hand threadvconstruction of shaft 4|, the threaded block 46, and also, yoke 42, will move towards the'left; or in the directionof lateral movement ofthe fabric. Since the'applicator wheels 30: and 3| are secured to the yoke by means of the socalled pulley and key assembly as described, they also move in the direction of the lateral movement of, the cloth, the hubs 6| and 62 sliding along shafts '59 and 69: inkeyways '53 and 64,respectively. Coincident with the foregoing operations, the displacement of feeler 26' will close the contact 92' i (Fig, 6), andsolenoid 94' will become energized-causing ciutch 56' to be moved into engagement with gear member 56'.

Threaded shaft- 4| is thus made to rotate in the direction of-shaftfiii, and yoke 42' will be driven towards the left, orin the direction of lateral movement of the-fabric, through the means of ,a threaded block (not shown) of opposite characteristics to the threaded block 46. The lateral movement of the yoke 42, and also yoke 42', will end when the feelers 26, 26, which are secured to the yokes, are moved to non-actuating positions. Such positions are always attained because the extent of lateral travel of the fabric is limited. With the feelers 26, 26 in normal, non-actuating positions, the contacts at SI, 92' will open, deenergizing the solenoids 93, 94, and clutches 56, 56' will be swung out of engagement with the gear members 53, Ell, respectively.

The operation of the applicator mechanism when the fabric moves laterally against feeler 26' and away from feeler 2B, is similar to the operation just described, but in this case the solenoids 93 and 94 will become energized and the clutches will be swung in the opposite directions to those above described, resulting in a movement of the yoke towards the right in Fig. 4.

It will be understood that the form of the invention as shown and described is simply illustrative, and that the general principles involved may be applied in other forms within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. In the light of the foregoing description, the following is claimed:

1. In an apparatus for removing edge roll from knitted cloth comprising moving heated surface means for receiving the cloth and a second moving surface means adapted to compres the cloth against said first surface, both of said surface means serving to advance the cloth through said apparatus, the combination therewith of spreader means positioned in advance of said surface means to remove relatively coarse folds from the cloth, brush means continuously brushing the cloth against said moving heated surface means in a direction adapted to open said edge roll to a fiat position, support means for receiving the cloth as it is discharged from said moving surface means, applicator means adjacent said support means adapted to apply setting material to the selvages of the cloth, and means for detecting widthwise movement of the cloth in advance of the application of setting material thereto and for maintaining the applicator means in registry with said selvages.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of supporting surface means, means for guiding a length of cloth into contact with such surface means with the edge curl of the cloth on the side thereof away from such surface means, brushing means bearing on the marginal portions of the cloth on such side thereof and adapted for outward movement transversely of such edges to flatten the edge curl portions into contact with the said surface means, means for temporarily maintaining the cloth in its said flattoned condition, setting material applicators located one adjacent each edge of the cloth and mounted for adjustment laterally thereof, and means responsive to lateral movement of the cloth adapted to effect a commensurate lateral adjustment of the said applicators.

3. In an apparatus for removing edge roll from knitted cloth comprising a moving heated surface means adapted to contact the cloth and a second moving surface means adapted to compress the cloth against said first surface means, both of said surface means serving to advance the cloth through said apparatus, the combination therewith of spreader means positioned in advance of said surface means for removing relatively coarse folds from the cloth, wetting means for rendering the cloth less resilient, a second spreader means positioned beyond said wetting means for spreading the cloth to a further degree of flatness, brush means for continuously brushing the cloth against said moving heated surface means to open said edge roll to a fiat position, support means for receiving the cloth as it is discharged from said moving surface means, applicator means adjacent said support means for applying setting material to the selvages of the cloth, and switch means for detecting widthwise movement of the cloth in advance of the application of setting material thereto and for effecting commensurate changes in the position of said applicator means widthwise of the cloth.

4. A method for producing knitted cloth free of edge roll which comprises spreading the cloth widthwise in a first step to remove a portion of said edge roll, wetting the cloth to render it less resilient, spreading the cloth widthwise in a second step to further remove said edge roll, advancing the cloth while coincidently heating and supporting the same, brushing the selvages of the advancing cloth in a direction to completely uncurl said edge roll and to flatten the cloth, compressing the flattened advancing cloth while continuing to apply heat thereto to set the cloth at least temporarily in a form free of edge curl, removing the cloth from its compressed position, said cloth being subject to widthwise movement as it advances, applying setting material to the selvages of the advancing cloth, and changing the point of application of said setting material to the selvages in accordance with the widthwise movement of the cloth.

5. A method for removing the edge roll from knitted cloth subject to such edge roll which comprises spreading the cloth widthwise in a first step to remove a portion of said edge roll, advancing the cloth while coincidently supporting and heating the same, brushing the selvages of the advancing cloth in a direction to completely uncurl said edge roll and to flatten the cloth, compressing the flattened advancing cloth while continuing to apply heat thereto to set the cloth at least temporarily'in a form free of edge curl, removing the cloth from its compressed position, said cloth being subject to widthwise movement as it advances, applying setting material to the selvages of the advancing cloth, and changing the point of application of said setting material to the selvages in accordance with the widthwise movement of the cloth.

JOSEPH W. HOUTH. PAUL L. MILLER. FRED T. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,402,621 Gifford June 25, 1946 2,438,787 Nicholas Mar. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 342,519 Great Britain June 17, 1930 

